Luke Burhans Oct 28, 2026

Rotation Thoughts

Iowa deployed a starting lineup featuring Kael Combs, Isaia Howard, Cooper Koch, Tate Sage, and Andrew McKeever. Peyton McCollum and Ty’Reek Coleman were the first off the bench, followed by Cam Manyawu. To round out the first half, Trevin Jirak, Jaidyn Coon, and Joey Matteoni also saw the floor. Coach McCollum played 11 different guys in the first half, with Trey Thompson and Ethan Harris not checking in until the under-four-minute media timeout.

I was a little surprised to see Isaia Howard in the starting lineup over Cam Manyawu because of how much Coach McCollum relies on Manyawu as a leader due to his strong understanding of the system. However, the buzz surrounding Howard’s impressive offseason led many people to believe this could be the outcome.

I do think this is the right move for Iowa. When you have a guy like Andrew McKeever in the lineup, who is going to bring a new level of gravity in the paint, it is imperative to surround him with spacing and good shooting. That is exactly what Isaia Howard is advertised to bring. Playing Cam Manyawu alongside McKeever would limit the spacing significantly, as we have yet to see Manyawu show a willingness to shoot a jump shot. Having Howard in the lineup certainly raises Iowa’s offensive ceiling.

Howard also brings a new level of tenacity to the on-ball defense, which will be pivotal in big games throughout the season.

Trey Thompson’s Playing Time Raises Questions

Hawkeye fans, including myself, were very surprised to see Trey Thompson left out of the rotation for most of the first half. Throughout open practices this offseason, we saw his ability, and he looked like a player who could make a big splash this season. However, we don’t see everything that goes on behind the scenes.

We know Coach McCollum has a short leash when it comes to below-average defense and live-ball turnovers. Thompson may still need to tighten up some areas of his game in McCollum’s eyes. The ability is clearly there, but he may need to sharpen things up in practice if he wants to earn more playing time.

Thompson had extremely high interest from blue-blood programs coming out of high school, so there is no doubt he is expecting to have a big role on this team in his second year.

Peyton McCollum Gets His Opportunity

Peyton McCollum checking in after the first media timeout was another surprise of the night for Iowa fans. I feel like many Hawkeye fans have somewhat overlooked Peyton when discussing players who could make an impact on the floor this season.

I felt that McCollum looked pretty good in the practices we were able to watch throughout the offseason. Coach McCollum said after the game that these rotations would differ from the ones he uses throughout the year. That leads me to believe Peyton was brought in early to put pressure on the weaker guard play Illinois-Springfield had to offer.

At the end of the day, Ben McCollum is an extremely competitive coach, and he was going to deploy the lineups that had an edge over Illinois-Springfield, even if those same lineups may not be as effective against higher-level opponents.

I’m pleased to see Peyton get his opportunity with this team. Sam Hoiberg is a player I could see Peyton modeling his game after. Hoiberg is another coach’s kid who plays a relatively mistake-free game and makes life difficult for opposing guards. I don’t expect Peyton to see as many minutes as he did in this exhibition throughout the season, but I could see him earning playing time in nearly every game.

Jaidyn Coon Could Be a Regular in the Rotation

I was not surprised to see Jaidyn Coon getting minutes in the first half. Ben McCollum has spoken very highly of him, and rightfully so. Coon is rumored to have a 42- to 43-inch vertical, which would put him among the best athletes in the NBA. At 6-foot-6 with his athleticism, Jaidyn Coon has an incredibly high ceiling.

If he can defend to Ben McCollum’s standards, he will absolutely see the floor all season long. He looked a little overexcited at times in this exhibition, picking up a bad foul and missing some open looks, along with a dunk. However, he still threw down three dunks in the minutes he played and is going to be a ton of fun to watch for Iowa fans.

Look for Jaidyn Coon to be a rotational piece throughout the season.